What is the toughest major team sport in the world in terms of physical punishment?

What are your big men called on the frontline?

O line or D Line. Plenty of NFL players can make the switch to Rugby and League.

Im not really into arguing football vs. rugby, but this is J.J. Watt, and he could take any rugby player down.

Hockey

Originally posted by Niners99:

Im not really into arguing football vs. rugby, but this is J.J. Watt, and he could take any rugby player down.

Hmm bloody nose? No where close to playing with a broken jaw.

If j j watt played rugby? Yeah his height would be advantageous in the lineouts against 7ft plus jumpers.
His weight would have to drop by about 20-40kilos to maintain aerobic stamina for endurance and agility sport to maintain 80 plus minutes

I would play him in the second row as a number 4 or 5 prop in the scrums an easy enough position for a man of his size to learn the game.
But first I'd get him to start jogging twice a day for a 20 -40km run to start with and then increase distance when stamina gets
better and better,do 50 laps in the pool increase by 50 at each improvement, do uphill runs on sandy surfaces 50 reps then increase to 100 then 150 etc. up a 50 -200 metre sand dune.
Techniques come later such as catching, passing, kicking a rugby ball. Does he touch the ball in the position he plays? If not this is going to be awkward and foreign to him as he will have to learn to pass left and right this will take time to master as fumbling can be very consistant with rookies. Oh by the way he'll have to learn how to catch those punt returns as well.

Originally posted by dmack:

Originally posted by Niners99:

Im not really into arguing football vs. rugby, but this is J.J. Watt, and he could take any rugby player down.

Hmm bloody nose? No where close to playing with a broken jaw.

If j j watt played rugby? Yeah his height would be advantageous in the lineouts against 7ft plus jumpers.
His weight would have to drop by about 20-40kilos to maintain aerobic stamina for endurance and agility sport to maintain 80 plus minutes

I would play him in the second row as a number 4 or 5 prop in the scrums an easy enough position for a man of his size to learn the game.
But first I'd get him to start jogging twice a day for a 20 -40km run to start with and then increase distance when stamina gets
better and better,do 50 laps in the pool increase by 50 at each improvement, do uphill runs on sandy surfaces 50 reps then increase to 100 then 150 etc. up a 50 -200 metre sand dune.
Techniques come later such as catching, passing, kicking a rugby ball. Does he touch the ball in the position he plays? If not this is going to be awkward and foreign to him as he will have to learn to pass left and right this will take time to master as fumbling can be very consistant with rookies. Oh by the way he'll have to learn how to catch those punt returns as well.

In addition to being the most dominant defensive player in the NFL, he also can play on offense. Hes an athletic freak. I dont think hed have too much trouble adjusting to rugby.

Theres no way JJ watt could play in the back line. Prop or Lock in Rugby. Yeah he's a chance.

Ok i watched that td good catch but will have to lose the baggage too much weight to carry for an endurance sport, and yeah put him in the number 4 or 5 position.

lol JJ Watt wouldn't take any Rugby player down,Rugby players have to play on offense and defense,JJ Watt dishes out punishment on defense but doesn't have to run the ball on offense and take punishment back,JJ Watt is not used to get tackled for 80 mins non stop,dude has probably never been tackled in his life.

Born and raised in Montreal, hockey and it's not all that close guys.

Toughest sport in my opinion, toughest players as well. This is obviously a unique case but Patrice Bergeron a few years back, 2013 IIRC, played game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Hawks with a rib injury that included a cartilage tear, a punctured lung and a separated shoulder that he suffered in Game 6. Went to the hospital after game 7 obviously but still played the game.

I've seen multiple guys get hit with sticks or pucks, gashed open, teeth missing, chunks of skin, separated shoulders and want to come back right after being stitched up or having their arms popped back in. Some cases they had to be held out but plenty of guys play through enormous pain.

Even though hockey is a team sport, it doesnt count as it has a disadvantage and thats the hockey stick itself, with that as a weapon you certainly can cause innumerable damage, the football codes dont have assisted equipment only for wear.
So yes ice hockey can be deemed tougher in that regard, the stick and puck are dangerous weapons, but the others are tougher due to no equipment used.

It's rugby league and not even close. The only protection a player has is their mouthguard.

Ice Hockey - protection
NFL - protection
Lacrosse - No much contact
Aussie Rules - Soft compared to League.


So the winner is Rugby League. Daylight 2nd and so forth.

Originally posted by FAS33:

O line or D Line. Plenty of NFL players can make the switch to Rugby and League.

For sure, safeties and linebackers, stauncher receivers and taller rbs would have the transferable skills. The Nrl should definitely sniff around after the cuts for the 53 man rosters and pitch the idea to guys who are going to be otherwise unemployed.

On topic - rugby league battered the hell out of my body but my 15 years as a rugby union forward put me in pretty interestingly punishing situations which I'd put up against anything as well. Being completely exhausted near the end or a game, hyper extending your knee under the weight of 4 guys who then crush what little oxygen you have in your lungs out and lay on you with a few more guys, all while your exposed gasping face is stomped on and kicked with metal spiked boots... That all happened to me at once more times than I care to recall. Rl was generally more punishing, but the bad in union could get really bad.

Rugby and it's not even close. Those guys are as manly as they come!